Knee-jerk reaction? Yes. Absolutely. How could they not be coming back? They’re a staple of the 1980s and a critical step forward in innovation to get us where we are today with modern streaming platforms. As the first real conceptualization of a playlist, the mixtape is an iconic declaration of friendship, love and belonging.
On a closer look, the answer is nearly yes. NME reported last year that cassette sales had reached the highest they had been in 20 years, with physical mediums skyrocketing in sales since the beginning of the pandemic.
A possible reason for this uptick in sales could be the careful curation of online stores. Artists have a wider market for exclusive items and can therefore release just about anything. Recently Kerrang reported that American pop-punk band Green Day put out the re-release of their 1994 album, Dookie, in a myriad of outdated and borderline unusable mediums. One song was only released on floppy disc, another on a singing toothbrush. The toothbrush retails for about fifty dollars, not including shipping.
Odd promotional items are nothing new though, as these types of special promotions have been going on for decades, from the Thompson Twins’ world map records to Jefferson Airplane’s cigar box vinyl packaging. These items were exclusive and often found themselves in the hands of hardcore record collectors.
But these promotional items are exactly that: promotional. They were fun little gimmicks to get people interested in the artists that put them out. Spending more money on a product that people may not buy isn’t something that many up-and-coming artists are willing to take the risk on. Also, it’s not even something that would bring them more success or notoriety. In the age of the Internet, promotion mostly happens online. Word of mouth and record shops are secondary to the biggest market: social media.
However, these products helped to open the doors for artists to put out weirder collectors items and take the full blame for Green Day’s “Pulling Teeth” toothbrush. While cassettes may not seem like an odd item to offer in online and select record shops, they are. According to New York Post, cassettes were close to obsolete after the turn of the century due to the burgeoning popularity of CDs and online streaming.
Nowadays, any fan can get their hands on a cassette of their favorite artist. Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande are just a few pop musicians that are including cassettes on their websites. Even indie artists are in on the craze, with acts like Orla Gartland and The Beths including cassettes in their online stores.
In January, The National reported that 2024 was the year for collecting physical media- and they’re not wrong. According to BBC, the Blu-Ray release of Oppenheimer sold out within the first week, leaving Universal to put out a statement saying that they would be restocking as soon as possible. Venturing through the literal jungle of the Internet to find the cheapest physical media possible, cassettes are the holy grail at the end of the journey. Falling between five to twenty dollars, they are much more reasonable than vinyls or CDs, which average at around twenty to thirty dollars. For collectors and fans, cassettes are a great way to support artists and stock up on physical media without breaking the bank.
Cassettes are back in business. Or, rather, they always have been, but now you’re more than likely to find someone braving public transit with a walkman over a smartphone.
What cassettes are you hoping to find out in the wild?
